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Pesticides are indeed pest killers. But do you know that it can also cause health issues for you, too?

Pesticides can harm people in so many ways – most of which, we don’t even realize. Farmers who use pesticides are at risk of dermal and respiratory exposure. On the other hand, consumers are at possible risk of oral exposure if the produce was overly exposed or not washed properly.

Dermal Exposure
– It results when the pesticide was absorbed by your skin or eyes after contact. Absorption will continue until the chemical is on your skin or eyes.

You should know that the pesticide residues can be transferred easily from one body part to another. Thus, the applicator increases the potential of pesticide poisoning.

Respiratory Exposure
– Respiratory exposure is one of the most critical because pesticide particles can be absorbed by the lungs directly into your bloodstream. If you inhaled sufficient amount of pesticides, it can instantly cause serious damage to your nose, throat, and lung tissues.

– Lungs can be exposed to pesticides by airborne droplets, inhalation of powders, or vapor inhalation. Handling concentrated wettable powders can pose a hazard if inhaled during mixing.

Oral Exposure
– The risk of oral exposure to pesticides is high. It can result in severe injury and serious illness. In fact, it can even cause death if swallowed.

– It’s common to have accidental oral exposures as well. This happens when pesticides have been removed to their original, labeled bottles and moved into a jar or food container.

– 50% of accidental oral exposure victims in the United States are under 10 years old.

The devastating effects of the coffee leaf rust epidemic have reached different countries all over Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. Aside from thousands of people losing their jobs, coffee plantations end up losing millions of dollars.

Eliminating the harmful effects of this disease is not impossible. However, it is challenging. Recently, we released CR-10, which is a coffee rust control fungicide. a coffee rust treament… or even better: a coffee rust solution! The active ingredientl is designed to attack the fungi and get rid of the harmful effects of the rust to the coffee leaves.

The CR-10 works faster compared to other fungicides

Eliminating coffee rust is our main goal. We want to help in saving the coffee plantations and somehow improving the commercial coffee economic status of the affected countries. Upon application, farmers can already see the effect of CR-10 on coffee rust after 48 hours.

The CR-10 only requires 2 to 3 applications

This fungicide works faster and better. Therefore, it only takes 2 to 3 applications to work. According to our own research, farmers had to do 4 to 12 applications using other products. With the CR-10, you can save money on labor and get better results faster than other fungicides.

The CR-10 is 100% Safe.

We always do our best to create products that are safe not only for us people but also to animals and to our environment. The CR-10 is 100% safe. It is biodegradable and non-toxic (when used at recommended dilution).

We made sure that our product is people friendly and environment-friendly as well. You have to make sure that you will use it at the level of dilution we recommend.

Recently, a group of scientists conducting researches and studies about coffee rust found out something that can possibly help all coffee producers all over the world. The researchers from the University of Exeter discovered that climate change is not the main cause of the devastating coffee rust disease.

Throughout these years, we all thought that this epidemic coffee disease is caused by the changes in our weather. Apparently, this new study shows signs that weather isn’t the main cause of coffee rust.

Published in the Philosophical Transactions B, the paper states: “We find no evidence for an overall trend in disease risk in coffee-growing regions of Colombia from 1990 to 2015, therefore, while weather conditions were more conducive to disease outbreaks from 2008 to 2011, we reject the climate change hypothesis.” Read More here.

Upon examining the coffee rust disease in Colombia from 2008 to 2011, researchers concluded that the coffee rust disease can be caused by multiple factors like the rise and fall of the fertilizer price, and the frequent weather changes.

This recent discovery is both good news and bad news to all coffee producers all over the world.

It’s good news because since the epidemic is not solely caused by weather changes, we can still find more ways to get rid of this problem.

On the other hand, this discovery is also bad news because it means that we need to start all over again and it requires more in-depth research to know how we can fully get rid of this epidemic.

Eating organic isn’t enough to stay healthy. No matter how much you try to stay away from chemicals, the fact is, they’re everywhere. It’s in your barbecue, your favorite chips, your hamburger, and even on your healthy salad.

Food handling and preparation play a very important role in making sure that what you’re eating is clean and safe. Before eating raw fruits and vegetables, it’s important to wash them properly to get rid of pesticides and any other chemicals.

According to research, petroleum based chemicals used in pesticides, consumer products, and job environments are linked to some health disorders. In fact, they are found to cause accelerated aging to the brain, blood brain barrier, and immune system. It’s also proven that these chemicals can also alter critical hormones that are necessary for teenage behavioral and neurological development.

Coffee Leaf Rust or CLR is a devastating disease that affects susceptible coffee plantations. It’s brought by a Pucciniales fungus called Hemileia vastatrix. In order to survive, the rust must come into physical contact with coffee, its obligate host.

It’s called coffee leaf rust because it looks yellow-orange and powdery. It also appears on the leaves’ underside. Young lesions usually appear pale yellow while older lesions are smaller in diameter.

Coffee Rust Life Cycle

The life of the Hemileia fungus starts with the germination of the uredospores. They mainly attack the leaves, but can also be found on fruits and young stems. Then, Appressoria are produced. They produce vesicles to enter the substomatal cavity of the leaves. After a day or two, infection is completed.

When an infection has been successful, the leaf blade colonization and sporulation will happen through the stomata. A lesion can produce 4 to 6 spore crops. After 3 to 5 months, they will release about 300,000 to 400,000 spores. Thus, spread the infection widely.

Coffee Leaf Rust Ecology and History

This epidemic disease was finally discovered in 1970. During then, it was widespread in Brazil and it was the first known infection in the Western Hemisphere.

In 1989, the coffee rust disease reached Costa Rica and in 1995, it hit Nicaragua.

The 2012 Coffee Rust Epidemic

Researchers were still looking for the solution for this problem when an epidemic hit ten Latin American and Caribbean countries in 2012. The disease became an epidemic and the resulting crop losses pushed coffee prices to an all-time high amid concerns for supply. The reasons for the epidemic remain unclear but an emergency rust summit meeting in Guatemala in April 2013 compiled a long list of shortcomings. These included a lack of resources to control the rust, the dismissal of early warning signs, ineffective fungicide application techniques, lack of training, poor infrastructure and conflicting advice.

Coffee rust is one of the most leading problems in the coffee industry all over the world. Affected countries struggle in looking for ways to eliminate this devastating problem.

In fact, coffee rust highly affects a country’s industry especially those that mainly depend on their coffee industry. With that being said, the government and huge companies spend millions of dollars to get rid of this problem. In fact, thousands of farmers lose their jobs because of this.

If the government itself and some huge companies are already having a hard time, how much more for those small coffee producers?

Small farmers depend on their coffee crops for their living. So, when signs of coffee rust start to show, they know that they need to find a way to contain this epidemic.

Aside from the government’s continued support, small farmers also get help from co-op organizations. These organizations support the farmers by providing them financial assistance and helping them in looking for solutions.

Oikocredit is a cooperative itself, headquartered in the Netherlands but operating across the world with a focus on social impact investing and capacity building in low-income countries.

Though our crop plants need adequate sunlight, they can only take so much heat. The plant tissues die normally around 115°F. The plant temperature is just usually above air temperature. But in certain conditions, plant temperature can rise to the critical level.

Plants, in general, have three major ways to remove excess heat.
1. Through long wave radiation
2. Through heat convection into the air
3. Through transpiration

If either any of these major ways are interrupted, plant temperature can rise above the normal.

For instance, transpiration can be interrupted by inadequate water, injury, vascular plugging, and stomatal closure. When that happens, the major cooling mechanism of the plant is lost.

Take note that dry soil conditions can also lead to excess plant heating. When the soils are dry, roots produce ABA or Abscisic Acid. This acid is transported to leaves which signals stomatal closure.

How to protect your crops from heat damage:

Overhead watering is the major method to reduce plant heat stress. Always make sure that you have sprinklers set up and you provide adequate water supply.

Misting also helps in improving your plant’s temperature. It helps in lessening water vapor pressure deficit.

You can also increase dissipation and reflection of radiative heat using reflective mulches.

Low density and organic mulches like straw can also be used to conserve moisture and reduce surface radiation.

If you are located in very hot areas, use shade cloth for partial shading. This will help in reducing heat and radiation.

A few months ago, researchers from the University of Arizona said that they were able to develop a new method to neutralize a dangerous toxin caused by fungi, that can lead to childhood stunting, cancer, and other health problems. These researchers made a genetically modified, edible maize plant, even when infected with a mold that produces a carcinogenic substance called aflatoxin. ROME – Scientists said on Friday they had developed a new method to neutralize a dangerous fungal toxin affecting crops that can lead to cancer, childhood

Every year, more than 16,000 tons of maize are being thrown because of aflatoxin contamination. In most developed countries, they are able to screen their crops. However, some small farmers do not have the technology to do so. Therefore, people are consuming unknown levels of these dangerous toxins.

This latest research found out that a Trojan Horse molecule can jump onto the fungus and shuts down its aflatoxin production.

In a study published in the journal Science Advances, Schmidt and her team said they had created a genetically engineered maize plant, which produces a “Trojan horse” molecule that jumps onto the fungus and shuts down its aflatoxin production.

Schmidt said the method should be transferable to other crops prone to aflatoxin contamination, like rice, soy and peanuts, as it exploits a naturally occurring biological mechanism known as RNA interference.

In the world we live in today, from fast-food to all the chemicals used in creating modern food, we need something organic and natural to live a healthier life. We all know for a fact that we always have to include fruits and leafy greens in our daily diet.

We stick to what’s natural. But how natural is natural? Regardless if we picked our produce from our own backyard or we bought them at the market, it’s important to make sure that our fruits and vegetables are properly disinfected.

Why Do We Need To Disinfect Our Produce?

As much as it’s healthy to eat organic, it’s also important to make sure that what we eat is free from harmful substances. Buying from the market doesn’t really ensure our safety from the chemicals and pesticides used on the produce.

Now, even if we grow our own produce, it doesn’t exactly mean that they are free from pesticides and chemicals. In fact, According to a study conducted in 2002, organically grown food contains up to one-third as much pesticide residue as conventionally grown food due to drift from conventional farms, as well as contaminated soil. (Food Additives and Contaminants, 2002, vol. 19, no. 5).

Not only that, our produce is not safe from possible fungi contaminants. Some fungi are not visible to the naked eye. The worst part is, some fungi can cause serious diseases such as mycotoxins and aflatoxins.

Mycotoxins are poisonous substances produced by molds found in grain and nut crops. They can also be found on grape juice, apples, celery, and other produce. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimates that one fourth of the world’s food crops are affected by mycotoxins.

Meanwhile, Aflatoxin is a cancer-causing poison produced by certain fungi in or on food, especially in field corn and peanuts. Aflatoxins have been associated with different serious diseases like aflatoxicosis in livestock, domestic animals, and humans all over the world.

The prevention of aflatoxin is one of the most challenging toxicology issues of present time.

Therefore, it’s really important to make sure that our produce and the food we eat are safe from those. We need to disinfect them properly and wash them very well before consuming.

It’s been more than 20 years since the AHS or Agricultural Health Study was created. The main goal of this study is to collect agricultural information to have a greater understanding of the role of agricultural exposures in or health. Throughout the years, the study has collected a lot of information that links chemical substances used in agriculture to serious health illnesses like cancer.

Pesticides and Cancer

Women who reported using OP insecticides were more likely to develop breast cancer than women who never used these insecticides. In addition, some specific OPs were associated with other cancers:

Malathion, the most commonly used OP insecticide, was associated with an increased risk of thyroid cancer.

Diazinon, another common OP insecticide, was associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer.

This is the first comprehensive evaluation of the use of these insecticides among women; it will be important to confirm these findings in other studies.